31 January 2011

Beady Eye release their eagerly anticipated debut album 'Different Gear, Still Speeding' on 28th February 2011 on Beady Eye Records.

The album features 13 brand new songs written by the band and was recorded at RAK Studios in autumn 2010 with producer Steve Lillywhite.

Below are the details of the release via iTunes.

01 Four Letter Word02 Millionaire Album03 The Roller04 Beatles and Stones05 Wind Up Dream06 Bring The Light07 For Anyone08 Kill For A Dream09 Standing On The Edge Of Noise10 Wigwam11 Three Ring Circus12 The Beat Goes On13 The Morning Son14 Man Of Misery (Bonus Track)15 Sons Of The Stage (Bonus Track)16 RAK Them Out (VIDEO)17 Bring The Light (VIDEO)18 Four Letter Word (VIDEO)19 Sons Of The Stage (VIDEO)

In our new issue, Roe McDermott meets director Danny O'Connor, who talks about the maverick record label

This February marks the return of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival - an eleven day event showcasing the best of Irish and international cinema.

And among the documentaries chosen for the festival is Upside Down, Danny O’Connor’s revealing examination of Creation Records.

Headed by the infamous Alan McGee, Creation was one of the most influential record companies of the ‘80s and ‘90s, signing such acts as Oasis, Super Furry Animals, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Primal Scream and many more.

In the new issue of Hot Press, Roe McDermott meets O'Connor to talk about the project. “You’ve got the story of Alan McGee and Bobby Gillespie, who went to school together, O’Connor explains. "One becomes this Mr. Label Svengali Guru character, and the other becomes this pretty significant rock star, and yet they were both completely interdependent. So the film starts and ends with them, and really it’s a story about friendship, about them falling in and falling out and their relationship.”

He goes on: “The music aside, the thing I absolutely loved about Creation was the attitude. It was very much about the swagger. And swagger is an ever-disappearing commodity, especially in the increasingly corporate age of music."

Read the full interview with O'Connor in the new issue of Hot Press (Glen Hansard cover), out now.

JDIFF runs from February 17 to 27 in cinemas and venues across Dublin, with Upside Down playing in Cineworld on February 24.

Last month we asked you to submit your questions for Tony McCarroll and were inundated with responses. Tony was one of the founding members of ‘Rain’, the band who would later become Oasis.

During his time with the band, he played on what was at the time the fastest selling debut album of all time 'Definitely Maybe' and the Some Might Say single which would become part of the biggest selling album of the 90’s; What’s The Story (Morning Glory). His distinctive way of playing helped create a unique sound for the band in their early years and songs like Supersonic, Bring It On Down and Live Forever are all instantly recognisable from his signature style.

After leaving Oasis, Tony continued to play drums, he founded he band Raika with his brothers and to this day continues to hold drum clinics for young musicians. In 2010 he released his the book ‘Oasis: The Truth’, telling the story of his time in the band. The book is a first hand account of Oasis becoming the biggest band in the country from their humble beginnings in Manchester and has received critical acclaim from both fans and journalists.

Hi Tony how’s things?

Things are good right now. The book has been a massive success and critically acclaimed across the nation and beyond, which feels rewarding in its own right. It has also lifted a huge weight from my shoulders which explains the feeling good bit.

I've read your book and enjoyed it, when did you come up with the idea to release it?

I’m glad you enjoyed it. I really feel I’ve aired my grievances and the response from people has been overwhelming.

The idea came about a couple of years ago, pre the band splitting. Noel was on his rounds promoting an album and once more it was me as the ‘stooge’. I just decided that it was time to set the record straight. The book has a humorous thread running through it which really seems to have struck a chord with people.

Have you had any feedback from the members of the band about the book?

Funnily enough I bumped into Bonehead just before the book release. He was as peachy as ever and wished me well. Apparently Noel has read it and actually really enjoyed it. It seems he found most of it hilarious. It’s good to see him taking that perspective. Everyone mellows with age or in Noel’s case, starts to thaw. Only joking!

How do you think most Oasis fans feel today about your contribution to the band and your early departure? Was your book also addressed to them, or have you always felt their affection and respect throughout the years, before and after you left the band?Like all group fans they are broke down into two groups. Those that like you and then those that don’t. It is what it is. I’m lucky in the sense I rarely meet a fan that I don’t get on with. I’m an amicable fella. Life is about having respect and if you do so more often than not it is returned.

There are rumours of the book being turned into a movie. Is this true? And who would you like to play you?A production company has spoken to me about filming the book. They are going to approach Noel for the rights to the music. I guess we’ll see how much Noel likes the book when he replies.

I was thinking maybe Leonardo Di Caprio all wigged up for me and definitely Craig Cash for Bonehead.

Is it true that you first picked up the drum sticks when you were five, and that it was recorded and broadcast by the BBC for it's flagship childrens television show Playschool?Yes it is. You can ask me mam. If anyone reading works for the Beeb and has access to the programme archives maybe they could dig it out. It would be great to see that again.

The first member of Oasis you met was Guigsy, how did you first bump into him?

We met through football as kids. They really were good years. The only concerns we had revolved around having enough money to get to the match at the weekend with ten fags in your back bin. Anything else was a bonus! There was only so many stories I could fit into the book but those days could fill a book on their own.

Is it true that you both use to go to both Manchester United and City games together?

That would be physically impossible. Unless it was derby day.

You were in a band called 'Pleasure And Pain' what type of music did you play?

I think you might find that was Bonehead’s first band, not mine. I believe it was a Sado Masochistic act which explains the name.

A few years after that you met Bonehead after Guigsy introduced him to you, what were your first impressions of him?I thought he was the funniest geezer I’d ever met. A laugh a minute and a fine musician to boot! I was fortunate enough to share a room with Bonehead on every tour…Definitely the most exciting room and always last to bed! Captain Mayhem!

Guigsy invited you to join the Rain with him, Bonehead and Chris. Who came up the name of the band?

Some uninspired soul, probably staring out of any window on any day in Manchester.

Are there any early recordings of the band pre-Gallagher lying around?I dunno. Best man to ask for that is BigUn (Paul Ashbee). He collected all sorts at the beginning like a regular little magpie. I think Noel even checks his own recollections with BigUn just to be sure!

When did you first meet Liam and what were your first impressions of him?

My first impressions were poor. I just couldn’t get the walk right. I’m no Mike Yarwood.

I first met Liam in Errwood Park when he would have been about twelve. Liam has always had what is now labelled as the ‘X’ Factor. Liam was always a leader and had a strong personality. He was a top fella then and remains so to this day.

When Liam auditioned for the band, what songs did he sing at the audition? And how quick did he change the name to Oasis?

When Liam auditioned in my house I don’t think he even sang. He didn’t have too. We were a couple of months in before he came up with the idea to change the name.

It seemed right. After Huts departure The Rain had effectively stopped.

You played a number of gigs in Oasis before Noel later joined, what songs did he have already written when he joined?

Nothing that you might recognise. A lot of the early stuff was borne out of jamming and then the lyrics added afterwards. Tracks like ‘Strange-Thing’ or ‘Colour My Life’ etc can be heard on YouTube.

You were discovered by Alan McGee in Glasgow, how much of Definitely Maybe was prepared by then.A very specific question. I wish I had a very specific answer for you! Only one or two tracks at most.

What were your first impressions of Creation? Was it as wild as it has been reported?
We were ushered by Alan McGee onto a rollercoaster of champagne, chemicals and cash. We were five working class lads from Manchester without a pot to pish in. Creation knew how to feed us and also how to feed the media. I think they knew our antics and behaviour could propel us to stardom. They had also heard ‘Definitely Maybe’!

How much creative input do you feel you had on Oasis' drumming? Was it simply Noel saying "this is how I want the drums to sound, so do that."
It varied. On occasion Noel would have a definite sound that he would want recreating but at other times we would simply jam away and Noel would write around that. A great example of this is ‘Supersonic’. That was myself and Bonehead sound checking and then Noel picking up the vibe. I am very proud that the very first offering from Oasis as a band to the British public was the drum beat I had created in a little studio in Liverpool. It still sends shivers down my spine!

What is your favourite post-McCarroll Oasis song?
It’s got to be ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’.

How's your relationship with the rest of the band nowadays?
I haven’t spoke to Noel or Guigs since I left the band. I did bump into Noel at a Manchester City game recently but he fled as soon as he spotted me, which was a shame. I’d like to think we had both mellowed with time. Bonehead is still a musical genius and we catch up every now and then. I last spoke to Liam at a Real People concert and as usual we had a proper roar. Liam is a good guy.

If Noel and Liam ever decided to do a re-union tour with the original members of Oasis would you be interested?

I suppose they would have to convince each other first.

What is your favorite Oasis Song and why?

Easy. Live Forever. I imagine it will go down in the annals as our signature tune and rightly so. I love the intro with the big drum sound. At concerts you would hear people singing out loud along to the beat! There’s not many songs where that happens. When we recorded the song Owen Morris turned up the drums which infuriated Noel but in the end Owen got his own way and turned up the drums on most of the tracks whilst mixing. Even Noel eventually admitted it was the right decision.

What are your favourite drums on an Oasis track?

I used to love performing tracks like ‘Bring it on down’ or even’ Headshrinker’

Who do you rate as the best drummer out of Alan White, Zak Starsky and Chris Sharrock?
I think they’re all great drummers but I do love Zak’s creative side. He doesn’t do the obvious and has taken the band in a different direction! Dare I say that he reminds me of his ever so famous Dad and the way he used to approach recordings.

Is it true that you were in the audience at the V Festival for the last ever Oasis gig?
Yes. There was a group of twenty of us who visit the festival annually. I thought that evening that the Oasis performance was particularly good! There are only two people in the world who attended Oasis’ first and last gigs. That’s Liam and my good self!! I reckon that will make a great question in a pub quiz!

What's the most memorable moment you had with the band?

Glastonbury 1994.

Who were you closest to within the band?Bonehead and Liam. We were the ‘mischievous’ set within the band. Noel was busy swooning with female music biz reporters or being interviewed and Guigs spent most of his time reading about which direction to shave your facial hair or watching cricket. That left the way free for us to leave a trail of destruction and broken hearts up and down the country.

Did you listen to Oasis' later albums after leaving the group? If so, what is your opinion of them?

Yeah of course I listen closely. Can’t say I’ve actually bought one though. The first albums were fantastic but I kind of lost interest after that until ‘Dig Out Your Soul. Some of the in between bits were almost predictable but that may be because I was very familiar with Noel and the way he wrote.

Do you think your book will encourage other former members of the band to release one?

I hope so. I would most look forward to Liam’s recollections. Noel has bared his soul for all to see for the last couple of decades or so where as Liam has shrouded himself in mystery. It would be good for the British public to see that their perception of Liam as a hooligan and yob isn’t strictly true.

Do you still play the drums on a regular basis?

I’ll never stop. The drums were my first real passion in life and I still enjoy them to this day. If a drummer ever stops drumming it all goes wrong! A drummer thing!

You said in your book you are involved in drumming workshops. who is it for? and how did you get involved in it?
My workshops take place in Ireland for local youngsters. I have always enjoyed teaching and being able to develop talent. Getting young people to focus on something creative is important to me and can prove extremely beneficial to them.

What happened to your band Rakia, and did you ever record anything?

I was in Rakia with my two brothers, Ged and Adi. Ged is a much in demand session musician who constantly put off tours and work to dedicate himself to Raika. When this became no longer practical the band had no choice but to split. There are a few shaky demo’s floating around with some early offerings on them.

If you had the chance to join an exciting band now, would you still feel passionate about going back to the music business full time or is it something that you are just not interested anymore at this time in your life?
Never say never.

If you could of joined another band past or present, what band would you have picked?Probably Led Zeppelin. A curly John Bonham!

Channel 4 has confirmed plans to air Live From Abbey Road - Beady Eye Special.

The 30-minute show will feature Liam Gallagher's post-Oasis band performing four songs plus an interview with the group. It will air in late February.

In spring 2011, the broadcaster will follow up the programme with a new series of 15-minute shows titled Abbey Road Debuts. Each programme will feature two tracks from a band's Abbey Road debut and an interview with host Tom Ravenscroft.

Neil McCallum, head of T4 and Music at Channel 4, said: "We're looking forward to broadcasting Beady Eye's eagerly anticipated televised performance prior to the release of their brand new album.

"In addition, it's exciting to be announcing a brand new spinoff series, Abbey Road Debuts, which will allow the next generation of musical stars the opportunity to perform in such a historical space.

"We envisage the shows to be the perfect accompaniment to the main series, collectively covering a whole new musical spectrum."

Noel Gallagher has been leading a Spanish inquisition to find a cheeky fan who was scuttling his solo masterplan.

The former Oasis star found out recently that a cunning punter in Barcelona had snapped up the domain name noelgallagher.com ten years ago.

And The Chief's plans to get things in order for his solo career were being held up by the Barca Bandit - because he was demanding a small fortune to hand it back.

Noel took matters into his own hands last week. He paid for the Spaniard to fly to London, put him up in a plush hotel and met him in person to thunder out a deal.

And after some serious haggling, and a few Oasis anecdotes, the chancer changed his demands from tens of thousands of pounds - to some signed memorabilia and guest list action at Noel's next solo gigs.

Muchas gracias.

It's probably just as well. Had the bloke dug his cowboy boots in he would probably have found himself dangled by his cojones from a remote bridge somewhere between Burnage and Barcelona. Oasis fans will be chuffed to hear Noel has set the ball rolling on his solo career.

He has kept a dignified silence since the bitter split from his old comrades and has let the dust settle.

In all fairness, there has been no rush. The business of bringing up a family is a full-time job - with nippers Donovan and Sonny keeping his hands full.

To hear Noel embracing t'internet at last is a sign he's moving with the times.

Rumour has it he even owns an iPad now - even though it's mainly used to watch comedy YouTube videos.

He has been a bit of a web sceptic over the years. But thanks to text messaging, he kept a blog going during the final Oasis US tour in 2008.

He would post under the name General Dread, keeping the faithful up to date with his travels.

Meanwhile, The Roller, the debut single from LIAM's new outfit Beady Eye, crashed into the charts at No31 yesterday.

I'm sure there's plenty of material there for a belter of a blog entry. Give it a few months.

He said "Ah man, that's f**king rocking. It was the first song we did actually. Our DJ Phil Smith used to play it before we came on at some of our gigs. So we rehearsed that one one, then we did 'We Love You' by the Stones, but we thought, F**k it, this one is more obscure. I saw them at the Ritz in Manchester. They were a top band. They were Pulp before pulp were pop".

The guitarist - who now performs with the singer in Beady Eye - believes his former Oasis bandmate restricted his sibling, but thinks it stopped the 'Bring the Light' vocalist from going completely off the rails.

He said: "Did Noel suppress Liam? Course he has. Not all his life. But look, in some ways, with Noel, the best thing has been suppressing him. Because Liam could have really f***ed his own life up.

"It's so not simple, they're both the real deal. I ended up in the middle of two of the biggest forces in rock 'n' roll. So I do my best. Liam ain't a monster. And neither is Noel."

Liam's Beady Eye bandmates - who were also in Oasis and include Chris Sharrock and Andy Bell -believes Noel's departure has made the singer more relaxed and fun to be around.

Gem explained to Q magazine: "What would happen if Noel was here? Well, nobody is assuming the Noel role of, 'You shouldn't be drinking tonight' so Liam would probably still be out at midnight, just to prove a point."

Pretty Green were awarded the 'Best Etail Marketing Initiative' at the 3rd annual Drapers Etail Awards last night. The prestige of the online fashion industry were in attendance to recognise and celebrate success and innovation in online fashion retailing.

Jessica Brown, editor of Drapers magazine commented: "The Drapers Etail Awards 2011, now in its third year, has evolved to reflect the rapid changes that have taken place in this dynamic sector over the last 12 months and this year, the judges were looking to reward the innovation that goes hand in hand with real results."

Following our 'Menswear Brand of the Year' award at the Drapers Fashion Awards, Pretty Green were delighted to be recognised amongst the best fashion Etailers for innovative cross-channel marketing initiatives.

Everyone here at Pretty Green would like to thank all of our customers for their continued support!

I think it was (What's the Story) Morning Glory? I know it sounds obvious but I'm sure I got it from Woolworths. I was always a big Oasis fan. Noel sings harmony on a track on my record. It was only a little thing but he came to the studio for an afternoon and hung out. It was lovely. I love Beady Eye too, especially Four Letter Word. We're supporting them in March which I can't wait for. They're both lovely lads. It's great to see them back. Hopefully they'll bring a bit of rock and roll to the charts. There's not one guitar band in the top forty. I'd love to get in the charts and have it. The radio is awful at the minute - just so boring. It needs to change. My record's rock and roll but there's a pop element there too. I want my records in the charts and on the radio. I want to get it out there and break that barrier. It's influenced by John Lennon and T-Rex. It's got that groove feel. You can have a good dance to it, I love it.

"I want to be in the best band in the world again," ex-Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher tells SPIN.

At 38, Gallagher is attempting to reclaim his rock glory with Beady Eye, his new group with two other members of Oasis, which will release their debut, Different Gear, Still Speeding, in the U.S. on March 1 via Dangerbird Records.

But how did one of rock's most notorious stars get here? It all started with a fight.

In August 2009, just minutes before Oasis were set to perform for 40,000 fans at Paris' Rock en Seine festival, the longstanding tensions between Liam and his brother Noel, the band's chief songwriter, came to a head. Punches were thrown and guitars broken, then Noel stomped off and the gig was canceled.

"He'd been acting like an old granny throughout the tour, and he felt that I'd been a dick," explains Liam. "We came to blows and that was the end of it." Noel released a statement shortly after announcing his permanent departure from Oasis, writing, "I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer."

"We haven't spoken since that night," Liam says. "But who knows, maybe in the future it will sort itself out. If it's meant to happen, it will happen."

Shortly after the brawl, Liam and ex-Oasis guitarists Gem Archer and Andy Bell "went out and had a couple of beers," he says, "and we decided to carry on. The idea of sitting at home, not making music, just makes me want to throw up."

They formed Beady Eye along with Oasis' touring drummer, Chris Sharrock, and began demoing songs for their debut LP. But this time, their success is up to them. Noel carried Oasis, writing the bulk of the band's material, including all eight No. 1 U.K. singles. But Liam is convinced Beady Eye can top that.

For the first time in his 20-year-long career, Liam is now regularly contributing songwriting ideas and shares credits on Different Gear, Still Speeding with Archer and Bell. "I've never made a record without our kid [Noel]," he says. Archer, 44, interjects, "But it's still same six strings, the same way 'round. It's in our DNA now."

"We're up for the challenge," adds Liam.

Beady Eye entered North London's RAK Studios last summer to track the effort with Grammy Award-winning producer Steve Lillywhite (U2, Dave Matthews Band, the Smiths). The quartet recorded 13 songs over 12 weeks, breaking to rock out to one of their favorite new albums, the Black Keys' Brothers, or hit the pub to cheer on England in the World Cup. "It was a good time to be in North London," says Archer. "One time Liam even bought a ticket for the sweepstakes [the lottery] as a joke and won a little money, not that he fucking needed it… [both laugh]."

They tracked the songs in as few takes as possible, in order to preserve the live quality of the sound. "We weren't sitting around dwelling on it," says Liam. "We'd do a couple tracks and move on."

Among the tracks are the glam-rock jam "Bring the Light," a "party tune," says Liam, which "just means, 'Let's fucking go, man,'" and the Beatles-y piano ballad "The Roller": "It's a metaphor for how things are thrown at you in life," says Liam, "and how they aren't as bad they seem."

The tracks, Liam continues, are classic rock'n'roll. "You've either got it or you haven't," he says of their songwriting chops. "Not everyone can say, 'I'm going to write a classic today.' If that was the case, we'd all be doing it."

With keyboardist Matt Jones (Ultrasound, Jamie T, Minuteman) and bassist Jeff Wootton (The Black Marquee) joining them, Beady Eye will hit the road in March with supporting act Miles Kane, who plays in the Last Shadow Puppets with the Arctic Monkeys' Alex Turner. Then, this summer, Beady Eye will head stateside for a tour of relatively intimate, 1,500-2,000-person theatres. "We're gonna go everywhere and run this album down people's throats, but in a nice way," Liam says.

Meanwhile, Noel is preparing his solo debut. But will Oasis ever reunite? "It just isn't going to happen, man," says Liam. After all, he's convinced Beady Eye will soon match, if not surpass, the success of his former band.

"Without a doubt," he says. "We're just doing it in a different way now. The passion in this band… there ain't anyone touching it. It's like a football team: You want to win the league.

These days Liam Gallagher calls big brother Noel “the little fella” and his new band heralds the post-Oasis era. But is this vehicle built for joyriding or a long run?

Key tracks (Bring The Light, Wind Up Dream, The Beat Goes On)

3 STARS

IN WHAT seems an eternity ago, but was actually just summer 2008, Oasis appointed their latest drummer, Chris Sharrock, much to the annoyance of Liam Gallagher. According to elder brother Noel, the Oasis singer was disgruntled that his band had been reduced to hiring a former employee of Robbie Williams. Presumably Gallagher Jr mellowed his opinion once he stood on-stage amidst the gyroscopic eruption of his new colleague’s playing on The Shock of the Lightning. Or perhaps he remembered that Sharrock had been a member of The La’s just long enough to play on There She Goes, and also appeared in that song’s sweet video; this man was channelling the urchin rocker spirit of The Beatles when Liam was still at school.

A consensus maintains that Sharrock was the most talented occupant of the Oasis drum stool, and now at last he’s played on his first album with the band. Well, almost. The notion of Beady Eye as simply a Liam Gallagher solo vehicle looks shaky when held against the continuity of the group’s membership. With Sharrock joining Liam, Gem Archer and Andy Bell, this band is Oasis, albeit minus the substantial element of Noel Gallagher: songwriter, guitarist, The Chief. Having disparaged his sibling’s character throughout their turbulent journey – the gist essentially being that Noel’s a boring muso, but I’m mad for it – now it is Liam’s chance to step outside big brother’s shadow and shyeeeiiine.

He’s done a decent job. Though wholly conformist and unlikely to surprise anyone familiar with its creators’ previous activity, Different Gear, Still Speeding does boast three strokes of brilliance. First off, there’s the title, which Liam suggests Liam possesses more self-deprecating humour than he’s given credit for: look, I might be 38 but I’ve got a new band and I’m still mad for it. Then the nutty cover art: a picture of a child riding an alligator, with the title in speech bubbles. Mocked up to resemble a hippy era samizdat journal, or perhaps a Frank Zappa sleeve, it’s a cut above the boil-in-the-bag retro of innumerable Oasis designs, and indeed, Liam’s Pretty Green clothes label. Finally, we have the single, Bring The Light. Until a year ago Liam was declaring his intent to call this band Oasis, and on this evidence it would not have disgraced that band’s legacy had he done so. Bring The Light has exactly the unselfconscious brio and contempt for the cool school rule-book that defined Oasis in their pomp. The primeval rock ‘n’ roll piano and Sharrock’s fervent snare shots taunt those disposed to sober bystanding, and instead the listener is dragged into line with Gallagher’s tunnel vision logic: “I see no point/In what you’re thinking/I’m going out/I’m taking you drinking”. Only a fool could argue with that. The contrast between this compact but nippy run-around and some of the ponderous gas-guzzlers Liam was obliged to front on Dig Out Your Soul, the final Oasis album, is glaring.

Then again, you don’t have to subject the Beady Eye debut to a full body scan to realise Noel Gallagher hardly foisted his grand musical vision on an unwilling workforce. There is actually a song here called Beatles and Stones, sounding like a mini-me version of The Who in R&B kickabout mode. The epic closer, The Morning Son, has a line beginning “So let it be…”, and is a dopey lope through the punning possibilities of its title, wrapped around a melody which refracts The Jam’s English Rose through the glissandos of a rent-a-trip string section. Before sliding into a sleazy stack-heeled refrain, The Roller mimics Instant Karma with the sort of obstinate intensity to be expected from a man who named a son Lennon. These reflexive testimonials to the golden age of Brit-beat and its lysergic aftermath smother the album, with too few songs possessing the transcendent qualities to counteract the balm of déjà vu.

Some basic editing might have helped: with 13 tracks and a running time eight minutes shy of an hour, Different Gear, Still Speeding, badly loses momentum in its final third. But amid the soft-rock platitudes (Wigwam) and leaden rabble-rousing (Standing On The Edge Of The Noise), there’s real inspiration, when windy rhetoric is dumped for simple, spring-heeled arrangements suggesting a strong bond between the musicians and producer Steve Lillywhite. Wind Up Dream has a spacey hand-jive groove with a whiff of The Stooge’s Penetration. Millionaire delivers a zestful acoustic twang and eyebrow-raising lyrical references to the Catalonian town Figueres and its most famous son, Salvador Dali. Equally deft is the lovely Macca-pop swing of For Anyone. These latter two compositions demonstrate that Liam Gallagher is as effective in the role of tender supplicant as when squaring up or out on the lash.

Indeed, his soppy side dictates a song which, though preposterous, is one of the record’s definitive moments. The Beat Goes On feels faintly comedic in its unabashed evocation of Mellotronic Fabness – imagine The Wombles in Pepperland (full page caricature of Beady Eye as Wombles in Pepperland with Noel as Uncle Bulgaria in the background!!!!!). The lyrics paint a no less absurd picture: the narrator dreams his own death and arrives in heaven for “the gig in the sky” to discover “The Ox and the Moon…counting me in”; on realising he’s still alive, he announces, “I’m misunderstood/And wasted on money and fame/I’ll throw it away, just to prove that I can…”. This is cogent, reflective songwriting, and such is the singer’s ingenuous zeal that any impulse to snigger is ultimately undercut by something closer to respect.

Throughout the record, Gallagher demonstrates yet again his infernal gift for singing: even a weak tune is better for him at the mike, and though there were times with Oasis when his waywardness clearly destabilised proceedings, the extent to which that band depended for its impact upon a fully-engaged Liam was beyond doubt. Here the man’s commitment is total, and such is his eternal saving grace. Anyone searching for clues to a future peace deal with brother Noel will take solace in the brooding, not-at-all-unlike-Oasis anthemics of Kill For A Dream: over portentous strings Liam declares, “Life’s too short not to forgive/You can carry regrets but they won’t let you live/I’m here if you wanna call…”.

In the context of the Gallagher soap opera, this is serious stuff. In the real world, it’s merely a passable song on a debut album that shapes up better than many imagined. Whether Liam Gallagher’s band is the start of a new story or a diverting subplot to an on-going saga remains to be seen – and you can imagine where the smart money lies. But already, amid the righteous ramalama of Bring The Light, their genius move, the world’s a brighter place for having a Beady Eye.

Miles Kane is giving fans a free download available via his Facebook Page, fans who ‘like’ Miles’ profile can get a live version of brand new track ‘Kingcrawler’ from today onwards.

He will be supporting Beady Eye on their UK tour that will see Miles playing tracks from his forthcoming debut album, to be released this spring on Columbia Records, including his first fully available single release, the searing ‘Come Closer’.

Produced by Dan Carey in South London and Dan the Automator in San Francisco, ‘Come Closer’ is "A good first proper single, because it has all the elements. A bit sexy, sleazy, with cool guitar,” explains Miles.

‘Come Closer’ will be available via digital download and two 7” vinyl formats which will include exclusive B side track ‘Before It’s Midnight’ and a remix by Steve Mason, formerly of The Beta Band.

Last year he revealed that Noel Gallagher sings on his forthcoming solo album, while Kane plays guitar on Noel's forthcoming solo project.

Be honest. If you were the gambling type, whose chances did you favour following the bitter dissolution of Oasis in August 2009? Was it Noel, band gaffer with the anthemic Midas touch now facing what seemed an inevitable transition to Weller-esque solo Britpop godhead? Or was it Liam, voted the greatest frontman of all time by Q, yet potentially one now fronting thin air if severed from his big brother's masterplan? The safe wager seemed to be Noel, even if 18 months on we're still waiting for him to fulfil those expectations and make the crucial next move. Whereas to back Liam's bid for Noel-less glory felt at best blindly optimistic, at worst laughably imprudent.

Consider the odds. Liam has the "The Voice", but while his sporadic songwriting has matured considerably since 2000's much-derided Little James, his ability to pen a whole album is ominously unproven. The same applies to his faithful ex-Oasis right-hand men Gem Archer and Andy Bell, both of whom have borne due critical flak for supplying the band's weakest album filler since 2002's Heathen Chemistry. Not great omens, and that is before they handicap themselves with the preposterous real ale-worthy name of Beady Eye, exacerbated by Liam's typically outrageous hyperbole that they were "going to be bigger" than Oasis and Noel "will come crawling back". On paper, the story was already writing itself, all elements in place for what promised to be the most embarrassing rock folly this side of Tin Machine.

So by virtue of circumstance, his post-Oasis moment of truth, Beady Eye's Different Gear, Still Speeding was always going to be one of the most important records Liam Gallagher would ever make. The gobsmacking reality is that it's also among the best. Which isn't to say that Oasis-loathing cynics won't find fish in its barrel to keep themselves trigger happy. No surprise that, yes, a lot of it sounds like The Beatles, the lyrics are no threat to Morrissey and, as in Oasis, musically speaking nobody here is reinventing the wheel. But such mean-spirited nit-picking evaporates in the face of an album which awes in its consistency, melody, determination and, perhaps most surprisingly, positivity; as was never the case with every Oasis album after 1995's (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, making this, however unlikely it sounds, the strongest record Liam's made since.

This do-or-die sense of purpose is evident from the first wah-wah smack of Four Letter Word, akin to Spencer Davis Group's I'm A Man as played by The Stooges yet still familiarly Oasis-esque not to scare the horses. It's an opposite setting for Liam's opening war cry, "Sleepwalk your life away if that turns you on," followed by the first of the album's many allusions to the Gallagher sibling soap opera; "the battle's on and the song is the prize", or its snarling moral "nothing ever lasts FOREVER!" A necessarily cathartic overture, perhaps, it's rock'n'roll gusto sets the bar for at least half of Different Gear.....: from Bring the Light, a romping Jerry Lee Lewis homage manic enough to overcome its banal "baby, c'mon" vocal to the free blues rock chug of Three Ring Circus and the Plastic Ono jam Standing On The Edge Of The Noise. Most ravishingly raucous is Beatles and Stones, Gallagher's mission statement that he's "gonna stand the test of time" like its titular icons over a garage rock stomp twitching between The Who's My Generation and Failure by The La's.

If Beady Eye were merely a balls-to-the-wall one-trick pony this would be a passable debut. That it's above and beyond so is thanks to the majority which chooses melodic beauty over sonic boisterousness, much credit due to the clarity of producer Steve Lillywhite's touch extracting Liam's brightest vocals in aeons. Both Millionaire, a gem of '70s slide-guitar glam, and the deliriously romantic For Anyone show a sublime pop sensibility. But the big guns here are all epic ballads, lighters first rising aloft on Kill For A Dream, the wistful alternative to Four Letter Word's post-split autopsy, which just might reduce grown Oasis fans to tears. "Life's too short not to forgive," sings Liam, "I'm here if you wanna call." Its scarf-waving outro is soon eclipsed by the soulful Wigwam climaxing after six minutes in a gospel chorus with Liam "coming up" from the depths of despair.

The best, however, is saved till last. The Beat Goes On is an ELO fairytale of a tune, Liam pondering his own death and his heavenly reception by an angel's choir in Beady Eye's equivalent to Don't Look Back in Anger. "It's not the end of the world/It's not even the end of the day." It seems unsurpassable until The Morning Son ripples in on the tide of Champagne Supernova, just Liam, acoustic guitar and a tsunami of poignancy: "I stand alone/Nobody knows/ The morning son has rose." It's a shudder-inducing stroke of genius, Gallagher effectively serenading his own rebirth as the music softly explodes towards a frantic finale again reminiscent of Lillywhite's La's debit and its comparable closer Looking Glass. Breathtaking, in fact.

If the Liam Gallagher of Oasis was the greatest frontman of all time the Different Gear.... is evidence enough that with Beady Eye he's created another great British guitar band to justify that honour. And if the battle really is on, then, much to the bookmaker's horror, this decimates all negative preconceptions. The half-score an effortless one-nil to our kid. Now over to you, big brother. Simon Goddard.

The rock star has enjoyed a successful career, often grabbing headlines for his no-nonsense behaviour as a member of Britpop band Oasis.

Now he is looking to carry on this attitude with his latest venture – Beady Eye – which was formed after he fell out with former colleague and his brother Noel.

Liam loves how, even though he is still going strong, his fellow musicians go through pain for the cause all the time.

“We’re scathed every f**kin’ day and we wouldn’t have it any other way,” the 38-year-old told Q magazine. “Our new keyboard player’s broke his foot already. Dropped a bowling ball.”

But Liam feels as though some of his peers are not being rock and roll enough. He says that he saw British indie band Coldplay and couldn’t believe there was no friction between them, which he thinks is a healthy part of any group. It happened while Beady Eye guitarist Andy Bell was wearing an unusual piece of attire. “I bumped into a couple of the Coldplay lot in the pub,” Liam explained. “Jonny [Buckland, Coldplay guitarist] said, ‘We’re just really happy.’ What, not one of you p**sin’ each other off? Nothing happened? People have got to have something to talk about, haven’t they?”

Beady Eye will release their album Different Gear, Sill Speeding in the UK on February 28. Liam claims that if people don’t expect much of the record it can only be because he is too much of an icon.

“Well, that’s pretty sh*t,” he said when asked how he’ll react if the public doesn’t like his latest project. “If people have low expectations of us it because you’ve been f**kin’ blinded by what you idolise man, that’s what you’ve been. That’s what’s happened.”

Liam Gallagher and his Beady Eye are raring to go. So much so he tells the new issue of Q Magazine (out today) that “People will be calling their kids Beady Eye by the end of the year”.

He adds that the (much discussed Beady Eye band name) is like “me walking into a room and going, right, that’s it I’m called Lisa now” and that “it puts us (the band) next to The Beatles in the rack. Instead of the f**kin Osmonds”.

On that now famous day in Paris on the 28th of August 2009 Oasis split up. Beady Eye (who this morning have announced a brand new set of UK live dates for April) were formed almost instantly by Liam, including former Oasis bandmates, Gem Archer, Andy Bell and Chris Sharrock.

The mission statement was clear, Liam and Beady Eye were to be a proper ’rock n roll band’. With debut album ‘Different Gear, Still Speeding’ set for release next month on February 28th, fans have been treated to some initial tasters, including a free download in the shape of ‘Bring The Light’.

A stomper of a tune ‘Bring The Light’ with it’s northern soul style backing singers, adds a suprisingly slightly new dimension, setting apart the Beady Eye sound a little from the tried and tested Oasis swagger method.

Debut single proper ‘The Roller’ set for release February 21st is ‘Instant Karma’ all over, showcasing Liam’s vocal at it’s smooth and soothing best with the track already having over 400,000 views on you tube alone.

Already confirmed to play a set of sold out UK dates in March, the band have now announced this morning a further headline UK tour starting in April.

Beady Eye have announced a UK tour for April 2011 which will follow the release of their debut album ‘Different Gear, Still Speeding’. The band had previously announced shows in Glasgow, Manchester and London for March (which sold out immediately) but this will see them travel the country and play their first dates in Ireland.

“Music, it’s all about the music, we could all have sat at home after Oasis split but what would have been the point of that. We had a couple of weeks off and then we were back in the studio demo-ing. We’re musicians, it’s what we do, it’s how we define ourselves.”

That’s Andy Bell, one of the two guitarists in Beady Eye, explaining why the band had to happen.“We love music,” enthuses Liam Gallagher, Beady Eye’s lead singer. “We’ve got these songs, we go in and we do them. We’re fired up, not because we thought we’d show everyone it could happen without you know who [Noel Gallagher], we’re fired up because we’re doing music.”

And with the line-up completed by second guitarist Gem Archer and drummer Chris Sharrock, and with producer Steve Lillywhite [The La’s, Morrissey, U2] also in tow, Beady Eye entered London’s RAK Studios back in June and over 12 weeks put down what Gem calls, “the best thing I’ve ever been involved in.”

“It was important not to sit and dwell on the past,” says Liam. “We’d just come off an Oasis tour and we were on fire, if we’d said, ‘let’s do something in a few months, or next year’, the flame would have burned out or we’d have got the fear.”

“It’s the best way to do it,” says Gem, “straight off the back of a load of gigs.”

And the results are nothing short of astonishing. Thirteen songs that are loud, vibrant, exhilarating. It’s raw rock’n’roll one minute, and classic pop the next from the raucous Jerry Lee Lewis and Stones inspired Bring The Light to the Merseybeat wonder of For Anyone, to the stomping T-Rex glam of The Roller to the pounding Millionaire and Four Letter Word. It sounds like a debut record by a band just starting out with a huge appetite for music, and despite individually all having made records for two decades or more as Chris Sharrock says, “that’s exactly what it is.”

“Some of the songs go back a few years and some are brand new,” explains Andy. “We got in RAK, and it was all exciting and new. We’d never been in there before and recording in Studio 1 was amazing. There are always new things to find out. I’ve never learned so much as I did this time.”

“We had the songs almost in order of how we wanted the album to play out as well,” adds Gem. “It was pretty well prepped. We were that committed.”

“And we were buzzing, confident, we were going in to enjoy it and have fun,” says Liam.Influences are unsurprisingly worn affectionately on sleeves: there’s even a song called Beatles And Stones.

“Yeah, the Stones were a big one on this record,” says Liam. “We were listening to them a lot. We don’t go off road and say, ‘let’s make a fucking Captain Beefheart record’, this is what we do.”

“The La’s are a big one too,” says Andy, “they are one of the greatest bands, a musical touchstone.”

“And sometimes,” adds Gem, “rather than trying to describe what you want something to sound like, it’s easier to say, you know that line in that record, I want it to sound like that. The Stones’s Child Of The Moon came up once or twice, Little Richard too.”

One song called The Beat Goes On, written by Andy Bell, is redolent of prime Hollies, it’s beautiful, melodic, strong.

“Songs were initially written individually,” says Andy, “but then we all worked on them, added bits here and there. It was Gem who turned this one around.”

“The thing is,” says Gem, “we can say which songs we each wrote but they are actually all of our songs, that’s how we do it, they’re all our tunes.”

Songs were put down live for the most part to capture the moment, the spontaneity, the energy.

“Steve Lillywhite was good at getting us to play live, to get things down in three or four takes,” says Andy.

“We did a lot with live vocals,” says Gem, “which is great when you’re playing, it’s not just dot to dot and filling in the blanks, you’re playing the tune.”

“If you always record in the same way,” continues Liam, “put the drums down, then put the bass down, etc. you always get the same record, it’s always in time and in tune but it’s soulless, everything’s the same, it’s like someone’s walked out the room, it’s autopilot, there is no movement, and you need that to keep on the ball. I’m straight in there now. In Oasis I’d be doing 20 takes, now it’s four takes and you’re there and we’ve got it. But we could have gone with Bob The Builder [as producer], it still would have been right. Because at the end of the day we were on the ball, we knew what we were doing, all the producer had to do was press the buttons we didn’t know how to press.”

With all the band members being guitarists, singers, bassists, producers and drummers, chaos could have ensued, with members competing for dominance but there was never the need for any one person to be the boss.

“The key is just not being afraid to say something when it needs to be said,” says Liam. “Whether it’s about music or anything in life, you say it, you take it on board, you get on with it. There is nothing worse than being in a band when you can’t say anything.”

“The thing is,” adds Andy, “we’ve all got different things we’re good at, but nobody knows everything. Chris was really good at speaking out, he’d be, ‘I’m not feeling this.’ There were a few times when he changed the whole direction, he’d say exactly the right thing at the right time. Like he got the Eddie Cochran beat down on Bring The Light. But Gem is the one with the big picture in the studio, he put the hours in.”

“But it’s about having the ears as well,” says Gem, “we’re just in love with music, even when we finish work on our own music, it’s time to get the tunes on and have a bit of a night, it’s an ever rolling thing.”

The actual songs came blissfully quick.

“It was one shot at demoing it, one shot at recording it, one shot at mixing it and there it is,” says Andy.

“We’ve been lucky,” says Liam. “There’s not one that’s come a cropper, they all instantly sounded great. There was nothing on which we had to roll our sleeves up on. It was, ‘this is fucking great, next one.’”

“It’s stupid really, but it’s fucking amazing listening to it,” says Gem, “it feels so unbelievably great. It definitely brings the child like qualities out in you. I can’t wait until we bring something else out so we’ve got something new to listen to.”

“I’ve had some of the best nights of my life listening to this record already,” adds Liam. “If we’d have video-ed some nights round people’s houses listening to it, it would be like fucking Quadrophenia.”

Of course people are going to hold up the Beady Eye record against the Oasis canon and compare. For many that pressure would have been too much.

“It wasn’t scary,” says Andy, “because we kept it really close to our chests, no one still knows what’s going on, the maddest thing now is to think that in a month or two it’s going to go out into the world and people’s heads are going to be pickled hearing all these new songs that they’ve not heard before, it will be like, ‘What was that? Help!’ Coming to see us live, they’ll recognise our faces but it will be all new tunes.”

“And that’s the beauty, to have the unknown. It’s a joy,” says Gem.

The plan is simple: make an impact by releasing three singles then the album then go out and play non stop.

The touring band will see the core four joined by Jeff Wootton on bass and Matt Jones on keyboards.

“There was never any fear with Oasis,” says Liam, “You knew people were going to dig it because it was Oasis. But I’ll be honest, when the gigs come round with Beady Eye, we’ll be shitting it, because it’s a new thing. We’ve been rehearsing the live set for the last two weeks though and it’s sounding great. The template for Beady Eye is the same one we had for early Oasis. Put out a lot of great singles not on the album with great B-sides, keep it flowing. What happened with Oasis was you’d end up on an 18 month world tour and you wouldn’t have any time to put new music out. When you get big, it slows you down. When you start out fresh, it’s all about the tunes. And remember, we’re a new band, we’re not going to get above ourselves and start thinking we can play stadiums and arenas, we don’t want to jump the gun, we want to go out and do small gigs, get back into that vibe then do another album, and take it gradually, stay in the moment of being a new band.”

“If Oasis was Muhammad Ali, then Beady Eye are Sugar Ray Leonard,” says Gem. “We just want people to dig us, for Beady Eye to have an energy, to have wind in its sails, to keep on rockin’. It’s not about the big numbers, the months of touring, the size of the crowd. It’s a lot more instant and who knows what’s going to happen.”

“We’re not bothered about chart success, but this deserves to be massive,” says Liam. “And it’s exciting not knowing what’s going to happen, but we know it’s good enough to change people’s lives, we hope it does.”

“The mission never changes,” concludes Gem, “if you’re not feeling it put it down. And that day has never come and I don’t see it coming for a long time.”

Britpop rabble rousers Oasis are no more, but three-quarters of the band, led by singer Liam Gallagher, will return on March 1 with Different Gear, Still Speeding, the debut album from their new rock outfit Beady Eye.

Gallagher and former Oasis guitarists Gem Archer and Andy Bell teamed with drummer Chris Sharrock immediately following Oasis' split in August 2009 to begin writing and recording material for the LP, which will be released in North America via Dangerbird Records.

The new band holed up in London's RAK Studios last fall to track the effort with Grammy Award-winning producer Steve Lillywhite (U2, Dave Matthews Band, the Smiths). The result is 13 genre-spanning Britpop and rock tracks, from the album's first single, a Beatles-esque piano ballad called "The Roller," to the blazing glam-rock boogie "Bring the Light."

"We could all have sat at home after Oasis split but what would have been the point of that," Andy Bell said. "We had a couple of weeks off and then we were back in the studio demo-ing. We're musicians, it's what we do, it's how we define ourselves."

Adds Gallagher, "We're fired up, not because we thought we'd show everyone it could happen without you know who [Noel Gallagher], we're fired up because we're doing music."

Beady Eye are finalizing dates for an upcoming U.S. tour, on which they will be joined by keyboardist Matt Jones (Ultrasound, Jamie T, Minuteman) and bassist Jeff Wootton (The Black Marquee).

"I’ll be honest, when the gigs come round with Beady Eye, we'll be shitting it, because it's a new thing," Gallagher admitted. "We've been rehearsing the live set for the last two weeks though and it's sounding great. We're a new band, we're not going to get above ourselves and start thinking we can play stadiums and arenas, we don't want to jump the gun, we want to go out and do small gigs, get back into that vibe then do another album, and take it gradually, stay in the moment of being a new band.”

He told Mojo "Liam's almost gone off like a firework. He's there every step of the way, sometimes with too many ideas. With 'Bring The Light' Liam had been doing some Pretty Green stuff in Italy and all of a sudden I got a load of texts saying, 'I want to do a Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, that kind of feel, and I want to do it right.' And then it just happened immediately. Once we got into the recording he said 'I want some girl backing singers, like an Ike and Tina Turner record.' I was saying, I can't get my head around it but it sounds great. So I think his head's just exploded. Especially since he's doing his Pretty Green thing, buying up film rights and things."

23 January 2011

For a forthcoming feature in Q Magazine they are seeking nominations for the best, most quintessentially British track by a British artist since 1960. Just one track that you, the Q reader, believe best reflects the British experience in that time.

It might be Live Forever by Oasis, That's Entertainment by The Jam, could be Panic by The Smiths, Born Slippy by Underworld, or Up The Bracket by The Libertines, or of course - something totally different. The choice is yours!

Simply enter here and keep an eye out for it possibly appearing in a future issue of the magazine!

22 January 2011

Pretty Green Presents Gary Crowley interviewing Gem Archer at the Pretty Green Club Night on the 26th November 2010 at The Garage, London.

Gem Archer, previously rhythm guitarist for Oasis and now playing in Beady Eye, speaks to Gary about band mate Andy Bell's setlist, his own style icons, Liam Gallagher's style and his favourite Pretty Green piece.

Liam Gallagher has rubbished claims he provoked the confrontation that led to the end of Oasis by making comments about his brother Noel's girlfriend.

The Britpop legends split in August 2009 when guitarist and main songwriter Noel walked out following a backstage altercation with Liam at the Paris en Seine festival.

Liam and Noel were involved in a series of bust-ups throughout Oasis's time in the spotlight, so there was no shortage of rumours about what had caused a disagreement serious enough for the band to split up.

One report suggested Liam had started the argument by making insinuations about Noel's partner Sara MacDonald.

The singer told Q the story wasn't true and that the argument had been about 'some f***in' stupid little t***'.

He revealed Noel had begun the now infamous bout of guitar smashing by destroying one Liam had received as a gift from his wife.

'Regardless of that, I thought f*** it. He's been a t** for the last six months on this tour, blowing hot and cold,' said Liam.

'So I thought, "f*** this s***, you're getting one of your guitars". And that was it.'

Liam's new group Beady Eye, which features his ex-Oasis bandmates Gem Archer, Andy Bell and Chris Sharrock, are set to release their debut album, Different Gear, Still Speeding, next month.

He has been busy talking it up, but had some words of encouragement for Noel, even though the brothers are not thought to be on speaking terms.

'I hope our kid's buzzin'. I f***in' do, actually. I hope he's gonna make great records. And he probably will,' said Liam.

Liam Gallagher says being in a new band is like telling people he’s now a transvestite and ordering them to call him by a new name.

The British musician made his name in rock band Oasis, which also featured his brother Noel Gallagher. The siblings have a famously turbulent relationship, with both frequently threatening to leave the group following arguments. In 2009, Noel finally walked out on the band claiming he could no longer deal with his brother.

Oasis disbanded, and Liam formed his new band Beady Eye. The name hasn’t gone down that well with critics, but Liam insists people will get used to it in time.

“I don’t give a f**k mate,” he replied, when told Beady Eye sounds like a folk band from 1972 by Q magazine. “It’s psychedelic. People know me as Oasis so it will be weird for a bit. It’s like a transvestite, like me walking into a room and going, ‘Right, that’s it, I’m called Lisa now.’ But people will be calling their kids Beady Eye by the end of the year. You’ve got to keep a beady eye on all sorts, haven’t you? It puts us next to The Beatles, as well, in the rack. Instead of the f**kin’ Osmonds.”

Liam is currently promoting Beady Eye’s debut Different Gear, Still Speeding. He is proud of the record, and had a great time making it as the group were so relaxed in the studio. The singer explained he didn’t feel under as much pressure as he had previously.

He refused to confirm or deny whether his song The Morning Son – which includes the lyric “You’re blinded by what you idolise” – is about Noel, only saying it’s a song which means a great deal to him.

“These songs were done in four, five takes. I remember doing 20 takes on that last album [2008’s Dig Out Your Soul]. I was in there singing all day long, it’s f**kin’ boring,” he explained.

“Most of the songs [on Different Gear, Still Speeding] are about no one and everyone. But The Morning Son could be the only one attached to Noel. Sometimes you can be held back by something that you f**kin’ worship too much.”